Princess Beatrice on how a personal struggle inspired her life-changing new project

By Meaghan Wray

November 30, 2018

Princess Beatrice has a big heart and puts her all into
her patronages and the causes that matter most to her. Not unlike other members
of the Royal Family – like the ‘Fab Four’! – the princess has a soft spot for
children’s empowerment and education. While speaking exclusively with
HELLO!, she
opened up about her pride and joy, the Northwood African Education Foundation,
and everything her patronage has accomplished this year.

The foundation has built a school from the ground up in
Ethiopia and aims to provide education to the world’s most vulnerable and
poorest children. The school, St. George’s, in Azezo educates 353 local
children, and the 30-year-old simply cannot wait to visit and see the wonderful
successes with her own eyes. But for Sarah Ferguson’s daughter, this cause runs
deeper than most.

Beatrice is a patron of the Northwood African Education Foundation

“I was diagnosed with dyslexia when I was seven and as I
have said before, it was a struggle at the beginning of my school career,” she
told HELLO! exclusively. “It taught me the importance of great teachers and
supportive parents who, above all, are ready and willing to listen to young
people.” The Queen’s granddaughter was given specialized support to help with
her schooling, and she’s determined to give other students the same chances she
got herself.

It must be a wonderful feeling to see such progress being
made in the program she supports with her far-reaching platform. “I would love
to see the progress being made at the school and I’m talking to the charity
about a trip,” Beatrice shared. “The results that we are seeing at St. George’s
are incredibly inspiring, and it is helping the most vulnerable children in one
of the poorest places in the world. I’m honoured to be involved and will do
whatever I can to support the project.”

The school hopes to expand to accept 700 students

But the work doesn’t stop with just one school. Given the
success of the program in Azezo, Beatrice is hoping it will grow to more
communities. The results are in, and the proof is in the pudding. Academic
scores from this school year at St. George’s were four times above the
national average, with the average grade in all subjects over 90%. Not only is
the school helping children succeed, it’s also giving back to the local economy
by creating 50 local jobs that pay above the average salary. By 2022, the
organization is hoping to create a secondary school with 700 children ages five
to 18.

A foreword for the
foundation’s annual review was penned by the princess herself, and shared first
here with HELLO!: "Children have always been at the centre of the charity
work that I've seen my family carry out. So, when I was asked to become
involved in a project to build a beacon school to give some of the world's
poorest children the sort of chance that is taken for granted elsewhere, I
didn't hesitate."

She continued: "I didn't imagine for a moment that it
would be as successful as it has turned out to be five years on. I'm absolutely
amazed and inspired by what's being achieved. St George's School is in a part
of the world where half of all children have dropped out of school by the age
of eight, and children typically sit at rudimentary desks in classes of 50 or
60 for a maximum of four hours a day. At our school, they are in class sizes of
25, for six hours a day, with teachers trained to degree level and the best
facilities money can buy."

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